Every year, thousands of new users come to Apple, get a new Mac, and are faced with all these features that take it away from Windows. If you’re new to a Mac and coming from the Windows world, you may be wondering how to perform some basic functions in macOS. One of them, the most basic: copying and pasting text.
Being so used to Microsoft’s features, you may have tried doing certain combinations using the CTRL key, but you may have realized that they don’t work on macOS. Don’t worry: we’ll see Ways You Should Copy and Paste All Types of Content on Your Mac.
Copy and paste on Mac: keyboard shortcuts and system menus
The first method is to use key combinations. What is in Windows it is CTRL+C and CTRL+V to copy and paste, in macOS it is CMD+C and CMD+V
It also works between all your Apple devices, thanks to the iCloud clipboard. It should work immediately after setting up these devices with your Apple account, but if it doesn’t, you can fix it by doing a few checks.
If you are one of those who prefer to do it with the mouse, there is no problem either. You have the option to copy, cut and paste the ‘Edit’ menu of the vast majority of applications:
The last way to copy and paste on Mac is using the secondary or context menu of macOS. Simply select the text or file you want to copy, press the right button on your mouse or trackpad and the option will appear in a menu:
Remember that for this last option you must enable secondary click on your mouse. You can do this from System Preferences, “Mouse” panel:
How to Copy and Paste Text Using Apple Mouse
Whether you’re using a Magic Mouse or a trackpad, you can also copy and paste text from the “right button.” In the ‘Trackpad’ panel of these same System Preferences which we mentioned previously, you also have the option to activate “right click”, although by default you can do this by simultaneously pressing a click with two fingers.
There is an additional mode that can be mentioned but it is more limited: select, drag and drop whatever you want move. But here each application or part of the system has its own rules for this, and it only works when you want to cut and not copy. Apple has made it easier to use in the latest versions of macOS, but not all are compatible. An example where this mode is very useful is when moving files from one folder to another. For text, it’s generally not the best.
Don’t forget that on macOS, you can copy and paste whatever you want: plain or enriched text, links, files including images… the limit is set by the apps and the type of content they accept.
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